#thark rouge

[the-sky-queen]

Thark Shadow and Thark Rouge from my Sonic of Mars AU!

[the-sky-queen]

Thark Rouge

She has no room for anther mark . . .

[the-sky-queen]

So what's the deal with Sonic of Mars? Because I saw that Shadouge post, and now I'm intrigued, but I don't know anything about Princess of Mars or John Carter. Explain?

I'm so happy to hear you're interested! And don't worry about not knowing anything about the source material. It's kinda obscure, sadly. I've already made two posts about the basics of the plot, so make sure to read those first!

Since you seem to be interested in the shadouge aspect of the AU, I'll explain a bit more there! Basically, Shadow is the jeddak (leader) of the Tharks, a nation of sorts of one of the various alien races of Barsoom (Mars). They're a very war-like people and believe things like kindness and love are weaknesses. So, there aren't really relationships in their culture. Two people will 'mate' temporarily for the purpose of bearing children, but those children are then given to someone else to raise. Shadow especially isn't supposed to have a romantic relationship because he's the jeddak and he shouldn't get distracted from his duties. However, fate brought Shadow and Rouge together and they fell in love. The two are secretly married now. No one can find out about them, or else Shadow will surely be overthrown and the two of them will likely be killed.

And if you're interested in the history of the Princess of Mars book and the John Carter movie, I'll include a run down under the cut. :)

So Princess of Mars is a book written clear back in 1912. This thing is really old! It was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the guy who wrote Tarzan. There's a whole series for this book, but I've only read the first two books (A Princess of Mars and The Gods of Mars). This book and the whole series is really the backbone for a lot of modern sci-fi. Apparently, things like Star Wars and Avatar have taken inspiration from it!

In 2012, Disney made a movie adaptation of Princess of Mars, which they titled John Carter. For various dumb reasons, the higher ups kinda sabotaged the movie through a really lackluster promotional campaign. The movie got bad press and was accused of copying other sci-fi stuff. (The very stuff it INSPIRED might I add.) John Carter was largely considered a failure and it then sank into obscurity, which is really sad because it's SO COOL. Which is why I'm now making into a Sonic AU. :) (Also, I'm going to be following the plot of the movie more than the book. They're pretty similar, but they differ in some places.)

(If you wanna get into the series, be aware that it's kinda violent. Also, I'd recommend watching the movie and not looking at any of the pictures for the book if you value your eyes. A lot of artists have taken Edgar Rice Burroughs' description of minimal clothes very literally and its extremely uncomfortable. The movie is much better in this regard.)

[the-sky-queen]

Like, Fiona is blaming all sorts of stuff on Rouge and getting her in trouble for it in the hopes of drawing out her lover so the two of them can get executed. The Tharks will finally be free of their weakness and be able to move on with their lives. Little does Fiona know that SHADOW is Rouge's lover. So every time Rouge 'messes up,' and is in need of punishment, Shadow is forced to give the command to brand her. Every single one of those marks is HIS FAULT and it absolutely eats him up inside. But he can't stop this because then they'll both die. So after every branding, Shadow meets with Rouge in secret and begs for her forgiveness. And sweet Rouge always brushes it off. She's fine. One day, she'll find a way to deal with Fiona, and they'll be able to live their secret lives together in peace.

But Fiona isn't dealt with. And Scourge watches Shadow's every move for the slightest sign of weakness, so he can challenge him. So the brandings don't stop. And Shadow finds himself less and less able to visit Rouge. And then it gets to the point where Shadow realizes . . .

The next mark will be Rouge's last. After that, she'll have to be put to death.

And what can Shadow do?

Can he allow that?

Could he live with the guilt?

With the knowledge that HE'S responsible for the death of the love of his life?

No.

Shadow makes his choice. And it's what gives Scourge the opening he was looking for.

So with @cattyanon 's help, I decided that Tal Hajus is Scourge and Sarkoja is Fiona and that is so funny to me. XD

These two are such hypocrites. Fiona is the only one who knows Rouge is in a relationship (though she doesn't know with who) and is constantly getting her in trouble to punish her for it. But in reality, I think Fiona and Scourge got together as mates once and they kinda really wanna make it official. They hang out together a lot, but never go against the rules of actually marrying, but they are REALLY pushing the boundaries here. And yet THEY'RE the ones who end up condemning Shadow and Rouge the most for being married.

They're such jerks and I love it. They definitely deserve their fates. >:D

[the-sky-queen]

Tails in your AU?

In Sonic of Mars, Tails is taking on the role of Woola! . . . Kinda. I'm making some pretty big changes.

See, in the original book/movie, Woola is John Carter's guard dog. ('Dog' in quotations because he's really some kind of bizarre alien.) He's Carter's personal protector and overall buddy. So obviously, there's gonna be some tweaks here.

I'm still working out the kinks, but I'm thinking Tails is a Thark like Shadow. He's the charge of Rouge, who is also a Thark, and he's tasked with guarding Sonic when he first arrives in camp. I was thinking he's a kid genius like in canon, which could both simplify and complicate a plot beat that happens later on, so I'm not sure yet. We'll see. Who knows, I could always make him like Mangey if I wanted. I haven't decided yet.

So yeah, Tails is a Thark, he's guarding Sonic, and the two become buddies. :)

[the-sky-queen]

The Tharks are not tolerant of failure. Each mis-step results in a branding. When there's no room left for another mark, the offender is put to death.

Thark Rouge

She has no room for anther mark . . .